Automatic switch-operating mechanism.



'PATENTED NOV. 24, 1903.

H. T. DUMAS. AUTOMATIC SWITCH OPERATING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 1. 1903.

H0 MODEL.

.k iii 0 UNITED STATES Iatented November 24, 19030 PATENT 'HENRY T. DUMAS, OF SOUTH HADLEY FALLS, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND OOTAVE A. LA RIVIERE, OF INDIAN ORCHARD, MAS- SACHUSETTS.

AUTOMATIC SWITCH-OPERATING M ECHANISM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 745,096, dated November 24, 1903.

Application filed April 1, 1903. Serial No. 150,585. (No model.)

T 01. whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY T. DUMAS, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of South Hadley Falls, in the county of Hampshire and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Switch-Operating Mechanisms, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention pertains to mechanl0 ism for operating railway-switches; and an object thereof is to provide for the purpose mentioned mechanism which operates a tappet which is attached to a railway-vehicle and in turn operates a switch-controlling de- [5 vice, thereby avoiding the necessity for employing a person especially for the purpose mentioned.

Another important object of my invention is to provide a mechanically-operated switch which shall permit cars to pass it in an opposite direction regardless of the position in which it may be set.

The mechanism may, in a general way, be described as comprising a switch of any suit- 2 5 able form, a train of mechanical members operative to set the switch for different tracks, and a member which is attached to a railway-car, as the device is herein illustrated, and which may be positioned either operatively or inoperatively by a person on the car and according to the particular track to which the car is intended to be shunted.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a part of a car to which certain members of the mechanism which is comprised in my invention are attached, parts being broken away to show said mechanism. Fig. 2 is a plan view of a railway, a siding, a switch, and the switch-operating mechanism which is comprised in my invention, a part of a vaultcover being broken away. Fig. 3 is in part a horizontal section of details of the switchoperating mechanism, and Figs. 4: and'5 are detail views.

Corresponding parts in all the figures are denoted by the same reference characters.

Referring to the drawings, A designates a car, which is mounted on rails 19 b. A rod Z, which has a pedal-plate Z attached transversely of its upper end, passes downwardly 5o through the floor of a platform a of the car A and is slotted, as at Z, at its lower end to engage a crank-pin 2, which is attached to a side of a drum 3, which incloses a coiled spring a, one end of which is attached to the 5 5 inner peripheral wall of the drum 3, the other end thereof being secured to a fixed rod 5, on which the drum 3 is rotatably mounted. A flexible member, herein shown as a chain 6, is attached at one end to the periphery of the drum. 3 and passes over an idler-wheel 6 and is attached at the other end to a reciprocatable member, herein shown as rack 7, which is mounted in a bracket 0, which is attached to the car-truck A. A rotatable member, herein shown as a spur gear-wheel 8, is mounted in the bracket 0, and its teeth are engaged by those of the rack. 7 and in turn engage the teeth of a second reciprocatable member or rack 9, which is mounted in the bracket 0 and is integral with a tappet 9, which may be projected below the level of the rails and into a channel 0, when the device is operated as hereinafter related. A helical spring 7 is attached at one end to the upper end of the rack 7 and at the other end thereof to a stud 7", which is secured at the upper end of the bracket 0 and urges the rack 7 in an upward direction. The tappet 9 may engage, a vertical face 10 of an angularlyformed lever 10, which lies in the channel 0 and longitudinally of the rails b and is fulcrumed near its acute end on a stud d, which is fixed in the frame B of the channel 0 and below the level of the rails. A springpressed pawl 11 is pivoted on the wider end of the lever 10 and engages the teeth of a ratchet-wheel 12, which has a many-sided grooved cam 13 attached thereto and pivoted therewith on a stud 12 in a vault 9. An antifriction-roller 14 is pivoted on a stud 14: and is positioned in the groove 13 of the cam 13. The lever 10, pawl 11, ratchet-wheel 12, cam 13, cam-roller l4, and stud 14'. are practically similar and similarly arranged to 5 members shown and described in. my application for Letters Patent for switch-operating mechanism, which said application was filed on the 1st day of April, 1903, Serial No. 150,584, to which reference may be had for a further description thereof.

The stud 14 is fixed transversely of a rod 15, which is reciprocatably mounted in a guide 6, and at its opposite end is transversely slotted to receive a pin, which is attached to an arm 16, which is fulcrumed on a pivot 16, which is mounted in a bearing f and located within the vault g or in a similar construction, which contains the local switch mechanism thus far described, the upper end of the pivot 16, however, projecting above the cover of said vault and mounted in a bearing therein. On the pivot 16 and above the vault-cover g is fixed an arm 16", the opposite end whereof is bifurcated to engage apin 17, which is fixed in a slide 17, which is mounted in a slideway h, which is grooved at h to permit the arm 16 to oscillate longitudinally of the slideway. An operatingmember, herein shown as a rod 18, which passes freely through a longitudinal perforation in the slide 17, has collars 18 18 attached thereto and is pivoted at one end to a switch-point 19. Resilient members, herein shown as springs 20 20, are severally interposed between the respective collars 18' and the slide 17.

The operation and advantages of my invention will be readily understoodand-appreciated by those skilled in the art to which it appertains.

Presuming that the switch-point 19 is positioned as in Fig. 2 and that a car A be moved along the rails Z) in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2 and that it be desired to shunt said car to the rails b b, the motorman will press down the pedal-plate Z and rod 1. The latter will cause the drum 3 to rock sufficiently to draw the flexible member 6 over the idlerwheel 6 and by means of said chain raise'the toothed rack 7, which will cause the gear-wheel 8 to depress the rack 9, so that the tappet 9 will intrude into the channel 0, and as the car A continues its movement, as before mentioned, the tappet 9 will engage the face 10 of the lever 10 and cause the pawl 11 to operate the ratchet-Wheel l2 and cam 13 and by means thereof operate the cam-roller 14 and stud 14, as set forth in the application hereinbefore referred to. The rod 15 is thus moved to the right as the device is illustrated herein, thus rocking the arm 16, pivot 16, and arm 16 and by means of the latter moving the pin 17 and slide 17 to the left, thereby compressing the spring 20 against a collar 18 and causing the switch-point 19 to close against a rail 1), thus shunting the car A to the track which comprises the rails 79. Meantime the'kinetic members hereinbefore mentioned,which are attached to the car A, are returned to their respective prime positions by means of the coiled spring at and helical spring 7, and the cam 13 retains the switch 19 in the position to which it was moved by said cam. Any number of cars may therefore follow the car A on the rails Z) without further operation of the switching mechanism; but if it be desired that a car should continue to move on the rails 12 and beyond the switch-point 19 a second operation of said mechanism will, as can readily be seen, set the switch-point 19 to the right and cause it to guide the car onto said rails 19. It will also be noted that if the switch-point 19 be set as shown in Fig. 2 and a car be coming down the rails b in a direction reversed from that indicated by the arrow the wheels of said car will press the switch-point 19 away from the contacting rail, as the spring 20 will yield sufficiently for the purpose. 7

It will be noted, therefore, that the use of my invention does not at any time preclude the free passage of trains or cars in a direction opposite to that in which the switchpoints are intended to operate. The vault g should be made as nearly water-tight as possible, and a small pipe 19 may lead therefrom to a well formed beneath said pipe. Water percolating into the vault Q will run into the well It through the pipe 9.

I do not desire to be understood as limiting myself to the details of construction and arrangement as herein described and illustrated, as it is manifest that variations and modifications may be made in the features of construction and arrangement in the adaptation of the device to various conditions of use without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention and improvements. I therefore reserve the right to all such variation and modification as properly fall within the scope of my invention and the terms of the following claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. An automatic switch'operating mechanism, comprising, a reciprocatable pedal member mounted on a car; a flexible member moved longitudinally by the reciprocatable member; a tappet operated by the flexible member; mechanism operated by the tappet; and a switch operated by said mechanism.

2. An automatic switch-operating mechanism, comprising a reciprocatable pedal member mounted on a car; a flexible member moved longitudinally by the reciprocatable member; a tappet operated by the flexible member; mechanism operated by the tappet; and means for returning the several members to their respective prime positions.

3. An automatic switch-operating mechanism, comprising, a reciprocatable pedal member mounted on a car; a drum oscillated by said member; a spring urging the drum to its prime position; a flexible member attached longitudinally thereby; a tappet operated by the flexible member; mechanism operated by the tappet; and a switch operated by said mechanism.

4:. An automatic switch-operating mechanism; comprising, a reciprocatable pedal member mounted on a car; a drum oscillated by said member; a spring urging the drum to'its prime position; a flexible member attached to the drum and movable longitudinally thereby; a reciprocatable member operated by the flexible member; a rotatable member operated by the reciprocatable member; a tappet operated by the flexible member; mechanism operated by the tappet; and a switch operated by said mechanism.

5. An automatic switch-operating mechanism; comprising, a reciprocatable pedal member mounted on a car; a drum oscillated by said member; a spring urging the drum to its prime position; a flexible member attached to the drum and movable longitudinally T. D. OBRIEN, C. A; DAVIS. 

